Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has launched a staunch defence of his operations after rival Frank Warren accused him of targeting the 'bottom line'.

Warren on Monday used his self-owned TV network to hit back at comments, reportedly made by Hearn, claiming he 'stacked' his shows to maximize his financial return.

One such show on March 16 has had to be shelved after Ricky Burns' opponent Miguel Vazquez pulled out with a virus amid rumours that he had still not agreed financial terms for their unification fight, while Nathan Cleverly was also ruled out of his world title defence after being hit with a stomach bug.

This came on top of George Groves, who was also set to appear on the bill, joining Matchroom over the weekend and for whom he will now debut this coming Saturday.

"Of course we stack our shows, because that's what I've always done," Warren said. "That's why my fighters get home advantage when they fight, very rarely will I take them on the road unless I really fancy the job or they're getting fantastically paid."

And Warren said that he had a right to express his opinion in his regular column in the Sun and that Hearn should not take anything said in there personally.

"What have they (Matchroom) done in the last year - taken four guys abroad and got them all beat," he added. "What a great track record. There's a good way to build your business.

"He says I slag him off in my column, but it's not a question of that. My column is about expressing my view, and my view was they would all get beat. That's not being disrespectful.

"That's me giving my opinion, I'm not always right and sometimes I get it wrong. I do find it strange that they always go abroad though and the reason is because it's a cheaper option, rather than investing in your fighters and trying to get them home advantage.

"My motive is not the bottom line. Their motive is the bottom line. They care more about the short term 'grab the money now', rather than investing in the long term for your fighters."

Opportunites

Hearn refuted those allegations, saying Darren Barker and Gavin Rees - two of his fighters who have lost world title fights in America - had not seen their careers suffer as a consequence.

"I want my fighters to fight the best in the world and be tested at the top level," he said. "I want big paydays, big fights and world titles for my fighters. It's not entirely my decision - we sit down with the teams and I present all the opportunities in terms of what's available.

"If they feel it's the right package, they'll take the fight. If they want advice I'll give it, and my advice for those two fights was to take it.

"Barker was two-time European champion and ready for a world title shot. The only one available was Sergio Martinez. If he didn't take that fight he would have stayed at European level for the same money with nobody that interested.

"Gavin Rees was European champion, he defended that three times and was set to fight John Murray who had to pull out.

"So here's a chance to fight Adrien Broner for six times as much money, on HBO and try and upset the applecart.

"Both fighters came out of that with great credibility and a huge amount of support from HBO. Their stock rose and they got a nice paycheck. The only reason not to take those fights would be through a lack of ambition.

"People don't want to watch fighters making easy defences again and again. They want to see big fights and guys being tested.

"If you just want to make routine defences then that's fine, if that's the way you want to do it. It's not how I want to do it. I want to make boxing exciting again and I want to make the fights people want to see."

Hearn added that he was not interested in what is happening 'over the garden fence', with his own stable of fighters growing by the week.

"I couldn't care less. I don't go to work thinking 'I've got to get one over on Frank Warren'. It may be for him because he always seems to target us," he added.

"If I wanted to I could start asking about the Miguel Vazquez situation, but it's petty and I've got too much on my plate. I've got a dozen fighters wanting to sign up with us and no fighter leaves Matchroom. In the last three years there hasn't been one.

"We're running a business here. I don't want the losses that Frank Warren's got. It would jeopardise my business.

"If you're not making money you can't pay your fighters. We're not making massive money, but we're doing okay."

Got to side with Hearn. Surprisingly few fans care about losses as long as they are fighting the best

"That's why my fighters get home advantage when they fight, very rarely will I take them on the road unless I really fancy the job or they're getting fantastically paid."

"What have they (Matchroom) done in the last year - taken four guys abroad and got them all beat," he added. "What a great track record. There's a good way to build your business.

Warren summing up in his own words how he's out of step with what fans want and with what the sport should be. Hearn gets his guys shots at the best in the division, Warren gets them postponements.

Also, Hearn has gotten some of his guys home advantage when it's made sense, both Bute and Kessler probably would've preferred not to travel but Hearn was able to do a good deal for his fighter.

I don't really see Warren being willing to send an untested to Chisora to fight Wlad as being much different to Broner-Rees. If anything he was a lot less proven and a lot less developed than Barker and Rees when they faced the best in the division, and Wlad is a lot more proven than Broner who is still developing, so it made less sense.

I don't really see Warren being willing to send an untested to Chisora to fight Wlad as being much different to Broner-Rees. If anything he was a lot less proven and a lot less developed than Barker and Rees when they faced the best in the division, and Wlad is a lot more proven than Broner who is still developing, so it made less sense.

you touch on something that has been of mild intrigue to me,

Quote:

Originally Posted by S. Saddler 1310

Warren has been uncharacteristically bold in matching Chisora

i wonder what it is about Warren's view of Dereck that he's seemed so unusually happy to throw the guy in the deep end and let him sink or swim (not a complaint, btw).

i wonder what it is about Warren's view of Dereck that he's seemed so unusually happy to throw the guy in the deep end and let him sink or swim (not a complaint, btw).

quite possibly that the division is weak and he thought he had a fighter who could exploit it , with dereck being a extremely confident guy frank might have bought in to it , i like chisora that's not disrespecting him any way.

I wondered if he was not managing to build the fan base he had hoped for Chisora, or doesnt really know how to market to Chisora's type of fan base so decided to take risks to gain him support?

Which worked i suppose as he gained lots of attention earlier than he would have fighting stiffs.

i reckon it was more a case of Chisora losing unexpectedly to Fury and being out of shape and Del Boy telling him he cant be assed training unless he got big fights (although a Wlad fight was signed pre-Fury but thats a no lose situation.)

Del Boy doesn't (or didnt at the time he might have since sold his business Im not sure) need boxing, he was making good money without it. He might have told Frank if he didnt get big fights he wasnt gonna fight anymore/train anymore so Frank decided he may as well cash in straight away. Either that or he thought after the kissing and the biting incidents early in his career and his out of ring antics Chisora might not be allowed to box in the future so there was no point in building him up (padding his record)

Warren summing up in his own words how he's out of step with what fans want and with what the sport should be. Hearn gets his guys shots at the best in the division, Warren gets them postponements.

Also, Hearn has gotten some of his guys home advantage when it's made sense, both Bute and Kessler probably would've preferred not to travel but Hearn was able to do a good deal for his fighter.

I don't really see Warren being willing to send an untested to Chisora to fight Wlad as being much different to Broner-Rees. If anything he was a lot less proven and a lot less developed than Barker and Rees when they faced the best in the division, and Wlad is a lot more proven than Broner who is still developing, so it made less sense.

i reckon it was more a case of Chisora losing unexpectedly to Fury and being out of shape and Del Boy telling him he cant be assed training unless he got big fights (although a Wlad fight was signed pre-Fury but thats a no lose situation.)

Del Boy doesn't (or didnt at the time he might have since sold his business Im not sure) need boxing, he was making good money without it. He might have told Frank if he didnt get big fights he wasnt gonna fight anymore/train anymore so Frank decided he may as well cash in straight away. Either that or he thought after the kissing and the biting incidents early in his career and his out of ring antics Chisora might not be allowed to box in the future so there was no point in building him up (padding his record)

I agree with the 2nd paragragh. Del Boy (Albeit an entertaining brawler) is a nut job. I think Frank saw what would happen to him and decided it's best to cash out straight away. Did a good job though, got Del Boy a world title fight and a huge huge payday when fighting Haye at Upton park.

I'd like to see Del Boy get a few easy fights and get back into title contention. Boxing needs guys like him to bring exitement to the division.

Warren is trying to save his backside. Hes lost Groves and worse still Burns in the last week. He obviosuly sees Eddie as a viable threat to his reign as number 1 promoter. However, Frank shot himself in the foot way before the exodus of fighters happened. The biggest mistake he made was splitting from Sky. Boxnation is good but it doesnt have the hype machine that Sky has. There fore they just wont be able to compete with Sky. I think thats partly why Georgie and Ricky jumped ship

I really like boxnation (although sometimes the overdo the repeats, I didn't need to see the Matthew Hatton card several times each day this week), it's nice being able to randomly turn it on at anytime and see a fight you either haven't seen or haven't seen for a few years.

But I do feel it's main drawback is that it isn't good for the sport in the long-term. Boxing used to be a mainstream sport in the UK, but then Warren took his fighters to Sky, where they were paid more money but seen by less people. Because of less people seeing the cards, the guys coming up got less exposure and as a result earned less money than the likes of Benn, Eubank and Bruno had.

Boxnation is another step in that direction. Casual fans will see even less of the sport and some will stop following it, up and coming talent will struggle to get the kind of exposure that can build a fanbase, and it continues down the road of boxing being a fringe sport in the UK, from which it seems it may never return.